How To Weatherproof Outdoor Furniture

Image by Bret Gum; home of Kelly Wilkness

Keep your porch both chic and functional by caring for your outdoor furniture. Below are instructions for how to weatherproof outdoor furniture by material.

Pro Tip! For all of these methods, look to see how often you need to recoat your furniture. For many products, it’s every 1-2 years.

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For Fabric

To weatherproof outdoor furniture with fabric, first make sure you’re using the right kind of fabric. Fabric marked as outdoor will typically come with a weatherproofing seal already on it, which puts you one step ahead.

The absolute best way to keep your outdoor fabric looking good is to keep it out of the sun and rain. Leave it on the porch, or bring the cushions and pillows inside during the winter.

To weatherproof it, first clean it with a vacuum or brush. Make sure it’s completely dry before proceeding. Then spray it with a weatherproofing fabric spray, and allow to fully dry. We’d recommend one of these:

Kiwi Camp Dry spray — Camp Dry spray by Kiwi. Keep in mind that this spray works best on fabric that already has a water repellent material.

NeverWet Fabric spray — NeverWet Fabric Spray by Rust-Oleum

Scotchgard weatherproof outdoor furniture — Fabric Protector by Scotchgard

For Wood

To waterproof your wood furniture, try a wood deck stain, which will have a sealer in the formula. When it comes time to recoat, you can either use the stain again, or try a wood-specific clear waterproof sealer.

Thompson's WaterSeal to weatherproof outdoor furniture — Thompson’s WaterSeal for wood

Polycrilic protective finish to weatheproof outdoor furniture — Polycrilic Protective Finish by Minwax

For Paint

The best way to weatherproof outdoor furniture with paint is to make sure you’re using an outdoor paint that won’t fade easily. Black holds up best against the sun, but if you want to use a brighter color, try boat paint! It will hold up longer and fade less quickly.

If your piece is already painted, add a clear sealer coat to protect it.

Rust-Oleum topside boat paint — Topside Paint by Rust-Oleum

Total Boat boat paint — Wet Edge boat paint by TotalBoat

Acrylic gloss finish clear sealer — Acrylic Sealer Gloss Finish by Aleene’s

For Wicker

As with the other materials, make sure you clean your wicker furniture regularly. You can paint it to protect it, or use a clear, multi-surface sealant. Make sure you buy wicker furniture that is specifically made for outdoors, too.

Thompson's WaterSeal spray — Thompson’s WaterSeal multi-surface sealer

Minwax clear sealer spray paint — Clear Spar Urethane by Minwax

For Metal

If you’re starting with a rusted metal surface, clean and sand the piece before you paint it. Then paint it with a metal primer, which will help to seal it against rust. If the piece is already painted and you want to keep it sealed, use a clear polycrilic or acrylic sealer.

Rust-Oleum metal primer to weatherproof outdoor furniture — Rusty Metal Primer from Rust-Oleum

Rust-Oleum clean metal primer — Clean Metal Primer by Rust-Oleum

Ready to save your outdoor furniture? Try reupholstering furniture too! Of course, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to get your daily dose of farmhouse inspiration!

Tags

Furniture Outdoor and Garden outdoor living Porch

Author Bio

Victoria Van Vlear

Victoria is a brand advisor, marketing strategist, writer and editor. She was the editorial director of American Farmhouse Style for almost 10 years, and now enjoys writing occasional articles for the magazine and receiving the beautiful copies in the mail. Victoria is also a wife and mom to three little ones: two on earth and one in heaven. With any (not so spare) time, she devours books, dabbles in fiction writing and works on her house. As a home décor enthusiast and DIYer herself, she knows what a little paint and patience can do for a room!